Saturday 19th July - the Starting Line
The alarms went off all too soon, just before 5am on Saturday. We were all heartened to see that it was more-or-less daylight at this time, which augured well for walking 24 hours hence. A quick breakfast and final kit check, then we crammed ourselves into the car and drove to the start line.
There was something rather surreal about the huddle of people at the start line. Groups of Gurkhas in identical kit were everywhere; there were some serious types who were obviously going to be running the entire course; then there was the majority of the “field” – slightly nervous, not sure whether it was really a good idea, sleep deprived and unable (already!) to face another cereal bar. Before anyone could devote too much time or attention to thinking about it, the countdown began and we were off.
For those who are unfamiliar with Trailwalker, perhaps this would be the time to explain the practicalities. Entry is as a team of four. The route is 100km along the South Downs Way, divided into 11 stages, with 10 checkpoints (CP1 to CP10) and the Finish, which is at Brighton Racecourse. Teams need to check in at each checkpoint (to ensure that they’re not jumping into cars and driving from start to finish) and all four team members must complete the event for the team to be considered to have “done” Trailwalker. Support Crew are able to meet their teams at each of CPs 1 to 9, to provide them with tea, sympathy and, in Ridgeway’s case, the contents of two branches of Waitrose. As will become apparent, teams view their Support Crews as a cross between guardian angels, Florence Nightingale and the A-team, often simultaneously.